Our new Summer Documentary Institute will provide meaningful opportunities for youth in our community who are looking for a summer work opportunity!

This exciting 6-week program, held at CreaTV, provides documentary production and technology training, and leadership development, at no cost, for 10 under served youth in San Jose, ages 14-18. The Summer Documentary Institute encourages positive self-expression, and social change through media making, while inviting youth to explore technology-based careers.

CreaTV will be partnering with Work2Future youth employment partners, allowing participants to be paid for their hard work! In addition participants will have access to our professional community staff and resources in downtown San Jose, including production facilities, equipment and training needed to make digital media.

Documentary film making will provide participants the opportunity to learn critical thinking, and social skills that will benefit their personal and professional growth. With this program we hope to encourage creativity and expression through digital media and technology.

Participants will lead the program by choosing three to four community topics that they wish to explore and divide into small groups. Each group will produce a 5-7 minute mini-doc and the final projects will be debuted at a public screening at CreaTV, with a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The Summer Documentary Institute encourages participants to us this opportunity to tell the stories that are important to their lives through the creation of powerful documentaries. They will be fully immersed into the documentary production process from creating scripts and storyboards, to capturing their stories using state-of-the-art equipment and editing tools. Our program will be led by our experienced Community Media staff, summer youth intern leaders and volunteers. Participants discover how documentaries can raise awareness of issues and advocate for social change.

To extend the learning and continue the program participants' journey of positive self-expression, increase in technology competence, and advocacy for issues that are important to them, CreaTV will provide them with a one-year free membership and an equipment use stipend of $500 for their next project per CreaTV's noncommercial, nonprofit policies.

The 2019 program is already full. We look forward to sharing the projects with the community later this summer!